


Master and Padawan

by WildcatPacer



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 12:26:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11714370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildcatPacer/pseuds/WildcatPacer





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Not the Only One**

**Cassiope's POV**

It is moments after Claudius Templesmith has uttered words I thought I'd never hear as a mentor: "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 50th Annual Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy... of District 12!"

The bar is in an absolute uproar, especially District 1, to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Then, I feel a hand turn my face to the side, lips press into mine. Happily, I moan and scoot into Woof Casino's lap. He's a District 8 mentor and one of my best friends. And he knows something about Quells. We begin to furiously make out in celebration.

"What about... Mmmmm... Savera?" I gasp between kisses, referencing his fellow Victor and wife of about 23 years.

"Let her look," Woof smiles against my lips.

Mags Flanagan-Cohen, of District 4, bursts into tears and throws her arms around both of us. "My two best friends have each produced a Quarter Quell Victor! Oh, wait till Muscida and I tell this to Librae back home!"

* * *

After Haymitch is pulled from the arena, we prepare to board the train for home. We. For the first time, I am not coming back alone.

"Hey, Haymitch! Come here!" Woof calls, where he is standing with the District 8 mentors.

Haymitch swaggers over. A man of 41 years is standing with my best friend and he holds out his hand. "Indigo Weaver of District 8 and Victor of the First Quarter Quell. Glad to have a friend, especially from an outlying district."

Haymitch smiles and shakes. Woof insists on getting a picture with both of them, and then Haymitch and I board the train for home.

We are silent most of the way back. But I finally speak up. "They're not happy with you. You used their arena against them. They don't like that, so that's why most Capitolites are turning you into a joke, in case you were wondering."

"But that's not fair!" Haymitch protests. "Maysilee used the arena against them with the poison."

"And she's coming home in a coffin," I answer flatly.

"But..."

"The gods don't like it when mortals think they're better than them," I echo words I first heard when I became Victor.

* * *

It is night when we finally pull into the District 12 station. Hands pull Haymitch and I into the crowd in celebration, and an impromptu party instantly begins. I mingle through the crowd of mostly Seam well-wishers, ignoring how the Merchants won't give me the time of day. I spend most of my time searching for my winning tribute, my Victor. The second Victor of District 12.

I finally find him in the shadows of a building, sunk deep into a girl, who is thrashing and wailing against him. Haymitch flushes beet red and pulls out when he sees me.

"Oh, Cassiope... this is my girlfriend, Rosemary Fairchild."

Girlfriend. And a Merchant, no less! Uh oh. I blindly shake the girl's hand. She is very pretty and very polite, thanking me for saving her boyfriend from a field worth two arenas. Finally, I take Haymitch aside and we begin a lonely walk through the District. Victor to Victor.

"You need to learn about a new rule: the Victors' Code. It forbids you from having attachments, for your own good. So you need to stop seeing the Fairchild girl."

Haymitch scowls. "Again: so not fair!"

"Haymitch, I wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't for your own good! And if it didn't keep you alive! You love Rosemary, don't you?"

"More than anyone," Haymitch growls intensely.

"Then protect her. By not getting any more involved with her."

* * *

I should have known the boy wouldn't listen to me. When he barges into my mansion one morning a few days after we've come home, and I see the Fairchild girl with him, I sigh and put down my book. Here we go.

"We want to get married," Haymitch tells me seriously. "You can't stop us. But as a gesture of goodwill, we plan to make you the only guest at the toasting. We need your help first, though."

I say nothing nor do nothing. Just wait for him to finish.

"You need papers to sign from the Justice Building, to make the marriage official," Haymitch continues. He must seem encouraged that I have not immediately shot this half-brained idea down. "We need you to break into the Justice Building and steal them. You're about the only person who can get in and out and no one will suspect."

"And if for some reason, you can't get out," Rosemary pipes up. "We give you permission to forge our signatures on the documents and file them with the Chief Clerk. He's so old, he won't know the difference."

I remain quiet, so now Haymitch begs me. "Please, Cassiope. I have to do this to stay sane. I'm in love. Have you ever been in love? Do you know what that feels like?"

I suddenly think back to a time when I was a giggling little girl. Before the arena. When a Lark Everdeen would smile at me and ask how I was doing...

"Yes," I finally say heavily. "I know what that feels like."


	2. Posse of Peacekeepers

**Chapter 2: Posse of Peacekeepers**

It is two weeks after Haymitch's Victory. I am having dinner as a guest in his new mansion, which now includes his mother Perri and younger brother Gregory. Rosemary has also partially moved in, entirely in secret. I don't know much about the younger Abernathy boy, only that he speaks like a small child and sometimes babbles a lot. Yet he is built like an ox. I think it has something to do with his mind.

All at once, white Peacekeeper guards burst in. They forcefully drag Perri, Gregory and Rosemary out into the center of the Village. Haymitch follows them, clawing at the them and screaming obscenities. I have to hold him back from attacking one of them as they shoot Rosemary dead. Then, Gregory, who isn't even aware what he's done wrong as he dies. His only crime is being the brother of the Victor who really shouldn't be the Victor. They save Perri, my best friend, for last, knowing that will break both of us.

* * *

Six months later, on the Victory Tour, it only gets worse.

It is a very stressful time, though being from Twelve, we only have to crisscross the districts and country one time on the way to the Capitol, going in perfect reverse order.

"The Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy!" The Mayor will say. Instantly, I will hear more boos in response than cheers. And sometimes worse than that.

"Hail to the Victor!" someone from District 8 roars when we pass through there, throwing a tomato with such accuracy that it connects with the side of Haymitch's face. Savera, Woof and Indigo give me apologetic smiles.

Haymitch does himself no favors when he drinks throughout most of the Tour, making himself seem more like the clown that everyone already believes he is. When we finally reach District 1, and his name is called, a riot ensues. Several people rush the stage and attempt to kill the newest Victor, only to have Peacekeepers drag them off. The pain in this Career district is wild. They were robbed by seconds of a great win, and will have to wait 25 years - not just another year - for the next chance. Twice have they been thwarted from Quell wins - by District 8, but then District 12, of all places? That's more than some people can take.

* * *

It is still a bitterly cold winter after the Victory Tour. It is late at night in the Village; the lights are out in Haymitch's place, so I surmise that he has already gone to sleep. Just then, I hear a sharp knock at the door. Odd. Adam Pontipee, the friendly redheaded Peacekeeper who patrols through here, stopped by hours ago.

So, when I open the door, I nearly fall over to see that it is Lark Everdeen - my once crush - standing on my front stoop. He looks disheveled and distraught. I quickly usher him in.

"Lark! What happened?"

"My wife is dead!" Lark moans. He sits down at my table with his head in his hands.

Oh no. His wife. The woman who beat me out for his affections because I was such a coward, and then I had to essentially take a vow of chastity after winning the Games. I tentatively place a hand on his shoulder.

"Lark, I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do to help..."

He smiles almost bitterly. "You were always willing to help, weren't you, Cassiope?"

"I care about you!" I tell him, shocked that he would take my kindness as a surprise. I'd help anyone in District 12, whether I was a Victor or not.

I feel his hand on my face suddenly. He caresses it, then suddenly pulls me to him and kisses me full on the lips. I am shocked, but I don't pull away. Encouraged, Lark kisses me again, getting me into his lap. He gropes my bum, cupping each cheek, and palms my breasts. I dare to moan into his mouth and openly kiss him back. "Hmmmm..."

At last, with that remarkable strength of his, Lark picks me up and carries me to bed. He is taking me to bed, just what I always dreamed!

So I let him sleep with me...

But come the next morning, I realize, lying naked and wrapped in his arms, just what a mistake this is.

I was given one rule by the Code, and I broke it. And now Haymitch is in the picture, who I feel I still have to protect. Even if marrying Lark would not occur until a few years down the road, a marriage or even a relationship between him - a widowed Seamer - and me - a Victor - would never work.

I rise from the bed deliberately and throw on my clothes almost coldly. "Get out," I sigh. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to say, and it takes Lark by surprise, but he takes his leave. He doesn't even kiss me goodbye, though I want him to.

It's better this way.

* * *

As spring finally hits, the investigation and trials into the deaths of the Abernathys and Rosemary Fairchild go into full swing.

The whole thing is a sham; we know why they did it. But the trials for the ten Peacekeepers responsible are rigged as guilty. Because Haymitch inadvertently fucked over the Capitol yet again.

Rosemary was pregnant - just a few weeks along - when she was killed. When President Snow learned that, he flew into a rage and ordered the investigation.

The punishment for these Peacekeepers? Death by firing squad.

The square in the Justice Building is packed to overflowing on the day of the execution. I can't remember the last time Peacekeepers needed to be publicly made examples of, and I know it fills the more rebellious people of 12 with relish. Haymitch, the person most affected, makes damn sure he is in the front row. I am a few rows back.

As each Peacekeeper is shot in the head, one by one, I look a few feet to Haymitch's right to see a group of Fairchilds - Rosemary's family - sending death glares at our district's second Victor. Here they are, watching vigilante justice being done for a slain member of their family, and all they can do is glare at her Victor boyfriend.

I am suddenly filled with a terrible fear for my apprentice's life. So that, as soon as the shootings are over, I dive through the crowd and seize Haymitch by the arm. We run out of the there, not stopping until we have overtaken the crest of the hill leading into Victors' Village.

"60 people dead for me," Haymitch mumbles, almost in shock. I stop and look at him. "47 tributes, 3 family members and 10 Peacekeepers. All dead because of me. I can't take much more of this, Cassiope!" He bursts into tears - the first time that I've ever seen him cry.

"Get used to it, my very young apprentice," I sigh. "I've had 69 tributes die for me. I still have you beat. And I think I always will."


	3. 51st Hunger Games

**Chapter 3: 51st Hunger Games**

**Haymitch's POV**

The Peacekeepers come and get me at first light. Right away, I am forced into a line behind Cassiope. A line of two. What do the guards think we're gonna do? Run away?

We are marched as a pair into the Justice Building, where we meet with the Mayor, as Cassiope says is tradition. He is an old man, and will probably retire soon. There are whispers that Sonorus Undersee will likely be elected to take his place, as a gesture of goodwill.

Goodwill, my ass. His daughter places fifth in the Hunger Games - a Quell! - and suddenly all of District 12 wants her Daddy as Mayor?

When the Reaping begins, Cassiope and I are escorted to our seats. In half a century, we have the biggest losing streak - still! - of all the districts. Well, actually, that isn't true. District 6 still has only one Victor, Tressa Spectral, but she'll produce an apprentice and tie us one day; it's only a matter of time.

The Mayor gives the Dark Days speech and then reads the names of Past Hunger Games Victors. At least this year, it will be ever so slightly longer.

"The Victor of the 16th Hunger Games: Cassiope Fletch!" Dutiful applause.

"The Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell!" There is a huge roar from the Seam, joined in by a mass effort at booing from the Merchants. The mixed reaction stings more than any of the controversial receptions I received during the Victory Tour. The Mayor does nothing to calm the booing. I may be their Victor, cheer him if you want to, but there will still be those who will never forgive me that Maysilee didn't come home and I did. I mask my hurt with a smirk, reminding myself that far away in District 8, only Indigo Weaver has earned a title as long as mine.

Mitzi Hoops, who was our escort last year, bounces on to the stage and is much more cheery, probably now that she has finally produced a winning tribute for her district. "Welcome, welcome to the 51st Annual Hunger Games! Ladies first!" She whips out a slip of paper from the Girls' Reaping Ball a little too enthusiastically. "Light Daylock!"

A Merchant my age takes the stage. She looks me up and down skeptically. But I suppose she is pleased that we are no longer the embarrassment. I wonder if she knew Maysilee.

"Zircon Greenvale!"

A Seam boy of only 15 takes the stage, but he regards me as though I am a hero, full of hope. We are escorted to the train.

Dinner is a quiet affair. Since I am new at this, I decide to let Cassiope do the talking. She did explain to him that she usually lets the tributes come to her; that way, she can gauge if there is vested interest in either one of them to make a go of it.

So I shouldn't be surprised when Zircon leans forward eagerly. "So, what do we do first?"

Cassiope raises an eyebrow. I wonder why she is so surprised. Was I an exception for the male tributes she's received over the decades? Is this boy, too?

"Look, you managed to win, Haymitch. District 12 hasn't been this non-embarrassed in years. If you can do it, anybody can."

I know he's only 15, but I don't like this kid's tone. I won a Quarter Quell, thank you very fucking much - probably the most important win District 12 is ever going to have, even if we produce another Victor down the line. Why, if I live to see the Third Quarter Quell, I think they'd be hard-pressed to come up with a twist as sadistic as the one I just went through.

"You'll help us... right?" Zircon asks me eagerly.

So, I grab at my first bottle, take a swig and smirk. "Yeah, sure, kid, we'll help you."

I am shocked when Cassiope suddenly snatches the bottle away from me. "Don't do that again," she admonishes.

Eventually, Cassiope must have enough of my antics, for she finally interrupts the discussion with Zircon and Light to drag me back into the next train car. "What the hell is your problem?" she demands.

I raise an eyebrow. "Sorry?"

"We're going to be in the Capitol soon. And as the newest and very controversial Victor, you need to be on your best behavior! Everyone will look to you! Just as they'll be looking to me - remember, it's been 35 years since I won, so they'll make a show of it!" The Capitol likes to honor anniversaries ending in 0s or 5s of Victories. "That means no drinking, and actually trying to help our tributes!"

"Is that what you did all these years?" I can't help but sneer. "Try? Because you only have me to show for it! So, isn't it time we used a new strategy? After the stunt I pulled, Snow will make damn sure Light and Zircon die!"

Cassiope turns red with fury. "Don't ever again imply that I didn't try before you," she snarls. "I can go down the list: "First. there was Frollick Riverrock of the 20th Games. She got a silver medal; that was a heartbreaker of a Top Two for me. I had nerves worse than with you! Then, there was Ty Cobb, in the First Quarter Quell. He was Final Four with District 8 and the boy from 4 before the mutts got him. Oh, and then there was Allium Littlewind from three years ago; she got bronze when Brutus Gunn, that asshole from 2 who ended up winning beat her to death! I tried with them, just as much as I tried with you! But with you, I got results! And I intend to get results from these kids, and you should too!"

I am stunned into silence. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when Ivo Lockhearst, the boy from 6, ends up winning the whole thing, and Cassiope's and my kids die in the Bloodbath. I only feel better because Tressa needs the win as badly as Cassiope needed one last year.


	4. Mob of Merchants

**Chapter 4: Mob of Merchants**

I stand in line beside Cassiope as her order is run up. Grocery day makes for a nice outing, one that makes for a nice change every several months because when Cassiope does shop in town, she stocks up well. She has the money to do that.

We are in Foley's Apothecary, watching as daughter Lillian rings up the latest order. She is pretty, and not so bad for a Merchant. She's in my year in school, or was when I still went to school. Top of her class. Her father and the head proprietor, Barnabus, hands Cassiope her order.

"Here are your groceries... and your bill, Miss Fletch." I no longer wince at his use of 'groceries' in place of what Cassiope is actually buying: 'drugs'.

Cassiope smiles gratefully as she leaves the shop. As I make to follow, Lillian grabs my arm from across the counter.

"Haymitch - you HAVE to talk to her!"

I frown. "About what?"

"About what she's buying! Prozac? Morphling? Those are hard drugs! If she overdoses on even one of those, Haymitch, she'll DIE! And you'll be all alone!"

I smile broadly as I extract myself from her grasp, finger by finger. "Sweet cakes," I say, satisfied by Barnabus's choke of disapproval. As if I would do something as stupid as flirt with a Merchant, Victor or not! "Cassiope has been buying from your shop for decades. And she's still kicking! I think she'll be fine."

Lillian raises an eyebrow. "Of course you wouldn't listen," she scoffs. "You're the guy who's drunk in the Hob by 3 in the afternoon, walking home from school."

"And Cassiope drinks me under the table!" I capitalize on. "And she takes drugs! AND she's still alive! I think she knows what she's doing." And I leave the shop.

But as Cassiope and I head up the hill to the Village, I think back over what Lillian said. And it worries me. Suppose Cassiope does overdose by accident and leaves me all by myself? The last three Games have been hard on mentoring, with all six of my protégés dying the first day, too stupid to save their own skins.

But my fears are allayed somewhat when I see what Cassiope has bought the morphling for.

Every six months or so, my scar from the Career girl's axe can begin to bleed. When this happens, Cassiope helps me apply a coat of morphling over it, followed by a bandage around my torso. I don't mind it so much because it happens at long and consistent intervals - about once every six months. But man, does that motherfucker  _sting_!

"GAHH!" I wince as Cassiope applies still more morphling paste.

"Calm down, it's gonna be fine," she assures me.

"It's never going away... is it?" It is a loaded question, not just about the morphling coat, and I hate how I sound like a little boy when I ask it.

Cassiope sighs heavily. "No." She pauses. "But better having to do this every six months than having you dead. You're my only friend, my very young apprentice."

I blink, surprised. But I shouldn't be. Since my family's death, Cassiope has become like a mother to me. "As are you... Master."

* * *

The knock arrives at my door late one night, after dark.

At first, I think it might be Cassiope, returned from an evening meal at the Hob and armed with the latest gossip. Or perhaps it is that kindly, red headed Peacekeeper Adam Pontipee, who has taken to including Victors' Village in his nightly patrols. He usually just taps on the door of Cassiope's and my places, with a friendly howdy-do and assurance that both of District 12's Victors are safe.

But when I open the door, it is neither Cassiope nor Adam who greets me. It is instead a Seam boy with gray eyes, pale skin and brown hair. He was in my grade in school, maybe a year behind me. And he can sing like no one else, the star of the school choir. Even the birds sometimes stop to listen...

"Estes? Estes Everdeen?"

For yes, it is indeed the young Seam miner on my front stoop, and who should be there clutching his hand but Lillian Foley of the Apothecary shop.

"Haymitch," she begs. "They're after us. The whole Merchant class! You have to help us, please!"

"What's happened?" I ask.

"We just had a Toasting," Estes explains, clutching Lillian's hand. "We're in love."

In the distance, I can see the glow of what can only be torches, shouting moving through the District. "Aw, shit! Well, get in here, for heaven's sake!" And I usher them both in. I have the perfect place to hide them - the Telephone Room.

The Telephone Room is a staple fixture in every mansion. Every Victor of every Victors' Village in every district of Panem has to have one. Most Victors just view it was a spare room, equipped with only a desk and a phone atop it. A phone that gives you a hotline directly to the Capitol. Cassiope has one. As for me, I almost never go in here.

"Why's it so dark?" Estes peers inside.

"Just because I have to have it doesn't mean I have to decorate it," I quip. "Now get in there!" I all but shove the couple in. "And whatever you do - don't touch that phone!"

"Why? Is it bugged?" Lillian shrinks away from the phone.

"I've checked that damn thing up and down for bugs and hidden cameras, and I haven't found any! But that doesn't mean they're not spying on me!" I snarl. "Just stand still and don't make a sound!"

When I hurry outside to get the lay of the land, I can see that the Merchant mob has arrived at the Village and has already gathered at Cassiope's front stoop. The leader appears to be Estes's father, Lark, who is now practically begging Cassiope to intervene. "Please, Cass... we're friends..."

"Lark, I don't know enough about your son to know if what he did was wrong. I'm sorry," Cassiope is saying, as I stroll up.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" I ask as calmly as I can.

"My son has run off with this man's daughter," Lark shoots a look at Barnabus, as if it is the Merchant's fault. "We are going to track them down, break up this so-called marriage, and stop this foolishness!"

"Well, Mr. Everdeen, this isn't exactly a large District," I point out. "They could be anywhere, but those places aren't many."

"Yeah, we've checked the Justice Building, the Merchant sector, the Seam! This is the only place left!"

I pretend to think about it. "Have you tried the woods?" I offer up genuinely.

"Why would they go there?" Barnabus sneers at me, as though I am the scum under his shoe.

I observe the two fathers, and the posse behind them. I can tell from Lark's and Barnabus's body language that neither man has any love lost between them. They are simply uniting under a common cause: to get their children back. And that right there gives me all I need to know to do what I have to do next. I have to break up the fathers, not the children. And I can only do that by discrediting at least one of them, both if I can manage it. I pretend to study Lark closely; I'll start with him since I have the easiest dirt on him.

"Ah, yes, I remember you. You're that fellow who visited Cass in the night several winters ago. Just lost your wife. And you didn't leave until the next morning!"

Dead silence. The posse is looking at each other or at the ground. Anywhere but at me. Perhaps they don't believe me, and perhaps they have every right not to, as my reputation as a trickster precedes me. But one look at Cassiope's pale face or Lark's clenched jaw should tell even the simplest of Seamers that I speak the truth.

I've heard what my fellow Victors say about me. What everyone says about me. They might not be so bold as to say it to my face, but word gets back to me what they say behind their backs. They think I'm such a trickster. Troublemaker for noticing things about them. Embarrassing things. I really shouldn't be that smart. A drunk shouldn't be that smart. But here's the thing about most people, be they ordinary folk in Twelve or Victors in the Capitol: they all have misplaced arrogance about their own intellect. And not just misplaced - false. Some might call me arrogant, but that's because I am the smartest person who walks into any room. And I know it. And they resent me for that, especially when I expose them for their own stupidity.

Lark's face twists further and he finally barks to his men, "I want every house in this Village, to be searched from top to bottom!"

They start with the empty houses first, breaking down the doors and scanning from basement to attic. As they do so, I silently communicate to Cassiope with my eyes:  _They are safe?_

_They're in your place?_

_Yup._

I stroll calmly, so as not to betray my nerves, back onto my front porch and sit vigil in a rocking chair. Cassiope takes up a similar post. This mob can search every mansion in this Village they want. Every empty mansion that is.

Most Villages have a dozen mansions pre-built. No District that I know of, not even the Careers, has reached greater than twelve wins. So, once the mob has searched the ten empty mansions that District 12 holds, they grumbingly move to leave. I decide to drive one more nail in the coffin:

"I hope you're not thinking of searching mine or Cassiope's places, Barnabus. Otherwise, no more business from us." It's a weak trump card, I know, but Barnabus still scowls. I am satisfied when the men leave the Village, and - at a loss for where to go next - reluctantly move towards the district fence and the woods.

As soon as they are out of earshot, Cassiope comes running up to me. "How did you know they wouldn't look in our houses?"

"Lark Everdeen is as dumb as a brick wall, but he's not dumb enough to invade a Victor's property and break the law." I smirk. Then, I rush inside and fetch Estes and Lillian from the Telephone Room.

They hold hands and give each other such tender looks that even I have to smile. What father would want to break up that?

Lillian actually kisses me on the cheek. "Thanks, Haymitch."

I smile here even if I want to make a face like a child. "You're welcome."

Estes shakes my hand. "Thank you, Mr. Abernathy."

"It's Haymitch," I grin. "No formal bullshit, Estes. We're peers."

Cassiope and I see the couple out of the Village. I only learn later how Barnabus would find the two and, in a rage, disown his daughter. And I had no idea that my path would cross again with the Everdeens in a profound way, 24 years later.


	5. Little Hunter Ensnared

**Chapter 5: Little Hunter Ensnared**

**Cassiope's POV**

The winters since Haymitch's Victory Tour have been long and dark. Add in the coal plumes from the mines consistently blotting out the sun, and it's easy to see why my normally blonde hair has turned to a dark brown.

It is a quiet night when I hear a knock at my door. When I answer it to find the handsome red headed Peacekeeper on the other side, I smile.

"Adam! What news?"

"Some good, some bad. But the worst of it is that Lark Everdeen has passed away."

My face falls. Lark... "Oh... He has a grandchild now, doesn't he? Katniss?"

"Yes, and it looks like she will be a real beauty. Few months old and Lillian and Estes are very pleased. Anyway, I know how it must feel."

I nod tightly. "Of course. Losing your wife two years ago... and how is your son? Darius? He looks just like you."

Adam nods. "Adorable. Always wants to see my tools and he's only two."

I nod. "It must be hard, raising him and all alone."

"It's better than you. Alone with no family for decades."

I smile, enjoying the banter. Adam has voiced these concerns before. "I'm not alone. I've got Haymitch."

"... who is drunk most of the time, poor boy, so that's kind of like being alone. It hurts me, to see you like this." He takes a deep breath, almost like he's gathering his courage. "Which is why I want to suggest something."

I give a shaky laugh and smile. "Oh... OK."

Adam suddenly takes my hand. "Would you consider marrying me?" He starts to get down on one knee, but I stop him, in total shock. A proposal?

"I couldn't have children," I half-warn, half-excuse him. "I'm too old... 58..."

Adam seems encouraged that I didn't immediately didn't give an explicit No, so his voice takes on new encouragement. "I don't care about that. I have Darius."

"I don't want to put a bigger target on your back," I protest. "That is all you would get being married to a Victor."

"I already have a target on my back. I'm from 12, and I love this land. Do you know how few District citizens are enlisted as Peacekeepers?" He's right with that one, very few District citizens are hired into the Peacekeepers' ranks. Most are from the Capitol and are trained to show mistrust for all the common people. "It wouldn't have to be the way you're thinking. We... we could keep it a secret."

"Then we'd be living a lie," I tell him sadly. "I couldn't do that. Could you, Adam?"

"I would do anything for you, Miss Fletch."

I blink. "Anything?" His devotion touches me. And so I kiss him. I slip my tongue into his mouth and massage him there and let him touch my body. When we break apart, I rest my forehead against his.

"Yes," I finally relent. "Come by late tonight after your patrol. I'll have the bread ready."

* * *

Haymitch is the only guest. I don't own a bridal gown, as I never planned to marry, being a Victor and one who normally followed the Code.

Adam stops by after his patrol. Haymitch seems surprised by my choice for a husband, but since it's someone who isn't at all like the other guards, he approves.

But I still guard against what I am about to break in one way. And it is to protect this man who has always carried a torch for me. Even after we toast the bread, and Adam kisses me - his bride - I tell him, "The toast is all we need to be married. No documents to sign from the Justice Building. Nothing on the record. Just us."

We intend to keep it a secret.

* * *

Adam only stays in my mansion and sleeps with me on some nights. All other nights, he is at his home with Darius.

But that does not stop the Peacekeepers.

When Greasy Sae comes to me in a panic and tells me a Peacekeeper has been murdered in the Justice Building, I go white as a sheet. For I already know who it is. Adam. My husband who married me and lay with me in bed - a Victor - and in doing so, damned himself.

I send Haymitch to investigate. Being Victors, he and I are the only ones who can go into the Justice Building and no one will bother with us.

I stumble about my house and take a shot of Prozac with the needle, to get high. With my husband gone, I no longer care what happens to me. Too many have died for me. Enough is enough!

Remembering the gun Adam left me, I take it out and load it and aim it. After a generation, I will finally be free! I fire.

Little do I realize that someone is now sprinting across the District back to me...

I am still on the floor when I hear my door thrown open. "No! Cassiope..."

Haymitch's arms go about me. "What have you done, Cass? Why?"

"Carry on... where I've failed."

"Please... don't die!"

"You can do this, Haymitch. You're here now."

And I slip away as I hear Haymitch scream: "NOOO! No..."


End file.
